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Pacific Rim (2013)
SPOILERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Plot: In 2013, human cities come under attack by the Kaijus: colossal extradimensional beasts who rise from an interdimensional portal on the floor of the Pacific Ocean. To combat them, the nations of the Pacific Rim build the Jaegers: equally colossal humanoid war machines, each manned by two pilots whose brains are linked to share the overwhelming mental load of piloting the sophisticated machines. Though the Jaegers are effective, the Kaiju attacks grow more frequent and powerful. By 2025, the Pacific Rim governments have discontinued the Jaeger project and resort to building massive coastal walls to protect humanity from the Kaijus. The four remaining Jaegers are redeployed to Hong Kong to defend the unfortified coast until the wall is completed. Stacker Pentecost (Elba), commander of the Jaeger forces, devises a plan to end the war by using a nuclear weapon to destroy the portal. Pentecost approaches retired pilot Raleigh Becket (Hunnam) and convinces him to return and pilot Gipsy Danger, the Jaeger he and his brother Yancy once piloted. During a mission off the coast of Alaska in 2020, Yancy was killed by a Kaiju while connected to his brother, traumatizing Raleigh. Arriving at Hong Kong, Raleigh is paired with potential co-pilots to find one with a strong connection, as the stronger the connection, the better the pilots' performance in battle. Sensing a strong connection, Raleigh demands to be partnered with Mako Mori (Kikuchi), the director of the Jaeger refurbishment project. Pentecost opposes, as Mako is his adopted daughter, but he eventually relents. The duo's initial test run nearly ends in disaster when Mako becomes engrossed in a childhood memory of the Kaiju attack that orphaned her; she inadvertently activates and almost discharges Gipsy Danger's weapons while in the hangar. Shortly thereafter, the other Jaegers are tasked with fending off a double Kaiju attack in Hong Kong. The defense goes badly, with the Kaijus destroying two Jaegers and disabling the third. Pentecost sends Raleigh and Mako to mount a last stand with Gipsy Danger. Meanwhile, Newton Geiszler (Day)—a scientist studying the Kaijus—assembles a machine allowing him to establish a mental link with a Kaiju brain fragment. The experience nearly kills him, but he discovers the Kaijus are not wild beasts, but biological weapons fighting at the behest of a race of alien conquerors. With Pentecost's approval, he seeks out Hannibal Chau (Perlman), a major figure in the trafficking of Kaiju parts, in an attempt to procure an intact Kaiju brain to repeat the experiment. Chau deduces that the Kaijus are searching Hong Kong for Geiszler, because his experiment has attracted their attention, as the mental link is two-way and the Kaijus possess a hive mind. After Gipsy Danger kills both Kaijus, Chau and his team move in to harvest parts. Geiszler realizes one of the Kaijus is pregnant. The newborn bursts from its mother and swallows Chau before dying. Geiszler and his partner Hermann Gottlieb (Gorman) merge with the newborn Kaiju's intact brain and learn the portal will only open for a Kaiju, which is why all previous attempts to destroy it have failed. The two remaining Jaegers are sent to execute Pentecost's plan to destroy the portal with a nuclear weapon. Pentecost co-pilots the Jaeger carrying the warhead, but they are forced to detonate early, sacrificing themselves to destroy the powerful Kaijus guarding the portal. Raleigh and Mako seize the final Kaiju with Gipsy Danger and use it to enter the portal. Running out of oxygen, Raleigh ejects Mako's escape pod, initiates the nuclear reactor's overload sequence, then ejects himself. Gipsy Danger's nuclear core detonates, laying waste to the alien conquerors and destroying the portal. Mako and Raleigh's escape pods surface safely in the Pacific, and the duo embrace as rescue helicopters arrive. In a post-credits scene, Chau—revealed to have survived—cuts his way out of the newborn Kaiju's stomach. Video Games A video game based on the film was announced. Published and developed by Yuke's, Pacific Rim: The Video Game was released along with the movie on July 12, 2013.[68] Reliance Games has developed a Pacific Rim tie-in game for iOS and Android devices. Critical Reception Pacific Rim received generally positive reviews from critics. Review aggregation website Metacritic gives a rating of 64 out of 100 based on reviews from 48 critics, which indicates "generally favorable" reviews.[85] The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 72% approval rating with an average rating of 6.7/10 based on 239 reviews.[86] The site's consensus reads: "It may sport more style than substance, but Pacific Rim is a solid modern creature feature bolstered by fantastical imagery and an irresistible sense of fun." The Daily Telegraph's Robbie Collin awarded the film five stars out of five, likening the experience of watching it to rediscovering a favorite childhood cartoon. He praised del Toro for investing his own affection for the genre and sense of artistry into the project in such a way that the viewer found themselves immersed in the film rather than watching from afar, noting the director had catered to younger and older audiences alike and expressed surprise that the film could rise above the sum of its parts.[87] Todd McCarthy of The Hollywood Reporter gave a positive review, describing the film as the sum of the potential every monster film had ever tried to fulfill.[88] Lou Lumenick of The New York Post gave the film four stars out of four, and said it had "no shortage of brains, brawn, eye candy, wit and even some poetry", praising the "clean and coherent" action sequences and the "terrific chemistry" between Hunnam and Kikuchi.[89] Drew McWeeny of HitFix highlighted other aspects of the film, paying particular attention to the production and art design. He also praised the cinematography for "perfectly capturing" the film, and described the score as "ridiculously cool".[90] Rolling Stone's Peter Travers called the film "the work of a humanist ready to banish cynicism for compassion", saying that del Toro "drives the action with a heartbeat".[91] Keith Uhlich of Time Out called the film "pure, pleasurable comic-book absurdity", and noted that del Toro had lent the proceedings a "plausible humanity" lacking in most of summer 2013's destruction-heavy blockbusters. He said the Kaijus' civilian victims make a "palpably personal impression", deeming one scene with Mako Mori "as mythically moving as anything in the mecha anime, like Neon Genesis Evangelion, that the director emulates with expert aplomb."[92] The Village Voice's Stephanie Zacharek called it "summer entertainment with a pulse", praising its "dumbly brilliant" action and freedom from elitism, but noted the story is predictable and suggested del Toro's time would be better spent on more visionary films.[93] Angela Watercutter of Wired called it the "most awesome movie of the summer", a "fist-pumping, awe-inspiring ride", and opined that its focus on spectacle rather than characterization "simply does not matter" in the summer blockbuster context.[36] Richard Roeper gave the film a B, commenting that either the Jaegers or Kaijus "can take down any of the Transformers."[94] Leonard Maltin gave the film two-and-a-half out of four stars, calling it "three-quarters of a really good movie that doesn't know when to quit."[95] The Guardian's Andrew Pulver was less enthusiastic, calling the film a mix of "wafer-thin psychodrama" and "plot-generator dialogue".[96] Time's Richard Corliss said the action was let down by "inert" drama, describing the film as "45 minutes of awesome encased in 90 minutes of yawnsome."[97] Justin Chang of Variety criticized it as loud and lacking the nuance and subtlety of del Toro's previous films.[98] Slant Magazine's Ed Gonzalez, who said the film lacked poignancy, compared it to a video game: "a stylish but programmatic ride toward an inevitable final boss battle".[99] The Wrap's Alonso Duralde criticized the choice to set most battles at night or during the rain, feeling it detracted from the action, and said the comic relief actors—Day, Gorman, and Perlman—stole the film from the less interesting leads.[100] Jordan Hoffman of Film.com identified Hunnam as the weak link in the cast, calling him a "charisma black hole".[101] Giles Hardie of The Sydney Morning Herald was particularly critical of the film, awarding the action sequences "five IQ points out of five" as he described the film as an hour and twenty minutes of fight sequences vaguely connected by ten minutes of story.[102] Director Rian Johnson praised the film,[103] as did Japanese game director Hideo Kojima, who called it the "ultimate otaku film" and stated he "never imagined he would be fortunate enough to see a film like this in his life".[104] Go Nagai, who pioneered the idea of mecha piloted from an interior cockpit, praised the film's fun and intense action, while game developer Fumito Ueda said its battle scenes surpassed memories of the tokusatsu films he saw as an impressionable child.[105] Science fiction author William Gibson called the film "A ravishing display of intelligent, often wonderfully witty visual design, every frame alive with coherent language, in the service of what is at heart a children's story... A baroque that doesn't curdle, that never fetishizes itself." Music The film's score was composed by Ramin Djawadi. Del Toro selected Djawadi based on his work on Prison Break, Iron Man, and Game of Thrones, stating: "His scores have a grandeur, but they have also an incredible sort of human soul." The director also stated that some Russian rap would be featured in the film.[70] The soundtrack was released on digital download from Amazon on June 18, 2013 and CD June 25, 2013.[71] The physical version of the soundtrack was released on July 9, 2013, three days before the theatrical release of the film itself.[72] The ending theme is "Drift", performed by Blake Perlman featuring Rza.[ Cast: *Charlie Hunnam as Raleigh Becket: :A washed-up former pilot called out of retirement by the Pan Pacific Defense Corps.[8] On casting Hunnam, del Toro stated: "I saw him and I thought he had an earnest, really honest nature. And he was the kind of guy that I can relate, as a male audience member I go, 'I like that guy. I would like to have a few beers with that guy' ... he has an earthy quality.[9] Describing the character, Hunnam stated: "When you meet me, in the beginning of the story, I've suffered a giant loss. Not only has it killed my sense of self-worth, but also my will to fight and keep on going. And then, Rinko and Idris, and a couple other people, bring me out of retirement to try to help with this grand push. I think that journey is a very relatable one. Everybody, at some point in their life, has fallen down and not felt like getting back up, but you have to, no matter how difficult it is."[10] Hunnam was also considered for the role of Prince Nuada in del Toro's previous film, Hellboy II: The Golden Army.[11] Paul Michael Wyers plays Raleigh as a child. *Idris Elba as Stacker Pentecost: :Raleigh's commanding officer. On selecting Elba, del Toro stated: "This is a movie where I have had to deal with more dialogue than ever, and the way I cast the movie was—who do I want to hear say these things? Who do I want Charlie Hunnam to go against? Who can really tell Charlie Hunnam 'sit down and listen'?"[9] In another interview, the director said: "I wanted to have Idris not be the blonde, square-jawed, Anglo, super hip marine that knows everything. I wanted somebody that could bring a lot of authority, but that you could feel the weight of the world on his shoulders. When I watched Luther, that's the essence of the character... Luther is carrying literally the evils of the world on his shoulders. He's doing penance for all humanity... Idris is one of those actors that is capable of embodying humanity, in almost like a Rodin sculpture-type, larger than life, almost like a Russian realism statue, you know, big hands, all the turmoil of humanity in his eyes. I wanted somebody that you could have doubts internally, and very few guys can do that."[12] To prepare for the role, Elba watched footage of politicians David Cameron and Barack Obama, as well as Russell Crowe in Gladiator and Mel Gibson in Braveheart.[13] Del Toro initially offered the role to Tom Cruise, who declined because of scheduling conflicts.[14] *Rinko Kikuchi as Mako Mori: :Raleigh's co-pilot who lost her family in a Kaiju attack. Though Mori possesses a strength and fury that should serve well against the Kaijus, Pentecost is reluctant to use her, partly because of a fatherly bond and partly because he knows she is still fighting the terror of her childhood.[15] Del Toro stated: "I was very careful how I built the movie. One of the other things I decided was that I wanted a female lead who has the equal force as the male leads. She's not going to be a sex kitten, she's not going to come out in cutoff shorts and a tank top, and it's going to be a real earnestly drawn character."[16] Noting that the other actors were exhausted and "destroyed physically" by filming in the intensive Jaeger cockpit harnesses, del Toro said: "The only one that didn't break was Rinko Kikuchi, the girl. She never complained... I asked Rinko her secret and she said 'I think of gummi bears and flowers.' I try to do that in my life now."[17] Mana Ashida plays Mako as a child.[18] *Charlie Day as Dr. Newton Geiszler: :A scientist studying the Kaijus. Day stated: "Certainly myself and Burn Gorman provide a little bit of much needed levity, it's a break from the monsters and the guys fighting. But then the character gets thrust into the story in a way that his life is seriously at risk and it becomes a little more action oriented and a little more horror movie-esque. So, he kinda bounces back between being humorous and also being real... the rest of these guys, they look really good in their suits and they've got abs, they can kick and fight and punch. Newt is sort of the 'everyman' and he's flawed and he's arrogant."[19] Del Toro gave Geiszler the mentality of a celebrity chef, with tattoos and a "big personality".[20] According to the director, Day was cast based on his performance in an episode of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia: "He comes out with a stick, and he has a monologue about what it is to hunt the rats in the basement. It was very funny, but he was coming from character. He was not doing big stuff, he was, like, really mourning and lamenting his job, you know, how inhuman it is. And I thought, 'This guy is great at shading and comedy.' There are moments in the movie where he delivers them both." Trek Buccino portrays Geiszler as a child. *Burn Gorman as Dr. Hermann Gottlieb: :A scientist studying the Kaijus alongside Geiszler. According to del Toro, Gottlieb is a "tweed-wearing, English, phlegmatic introvert that never leaves the lab". The modest Gottlieb resents Geiszler's arrogance and radical behavior; the duo echo the film's theme of incompatible people functioning together when the time comes.[20] Drew Adkins portrays Gottlieb as a child. *Max Martini as Herc Hansen: :Chuck's father and co-pilot. Kazinsky stated Martini hated the fact that he was cast as Chuck's father, being only 13 years Kazinsky's senior. However Kazinsky said they developed a bond while filming, "Because we were working so tight together, we would finish and then we would go out for dinner every night and we would go to the gym together on days off we had... The emotional scene toward the end with the father-son parting, it was very easy for me to play because I had grown to actually genuinely love Max as a man and as a friend." Kazinsky revealed that Herc and Chuck's pet bulldog was del Toro's idea and said, "The dog's name was Max, ironically, and we ended up using Max for so many things. The story was that Herc and Chuck have difficulty communicating, that they communicated via the dog, and all the love that they couldn’t show each other they would show the dog."[21] The role was originally written for Ron Perlman, but del Toro decided the scenes between Perlman's Chuck and Hunnam's Raleigh "might start to feel like Sons of Anarchy 2.0".[22] *Robert Kazinsky as Chuck Hansen: :An Australian Jaeger pilot considered the finest soldier left in the Resistance. He and his father pilot Striker Eureka, "the strongest and the fastest" Jaeger with eleven Kaiju kills, and make up the Resistance's "go-to team".[23] Kazinsky, a fan of science-fiction, was initially drawn by the film's concept, "My immediate reaction was 'Holy crap, that's cool.' In the hands of somebody else, you might sit there and go, 'Well, this might be terrible,' but with del Toro doing it, you kind of go, 'This is going to be amazing.'".[21] *Clifton Collins, Jr. as Tendo Choi: :A Chinese-American Jaeger technician. Collins described his character as the "brains" behind the Jaegers.[24] *Ron Perlman as Hannibal Chau: :A black marketeer who makes a living dealing Kaiju organs. Perlman stated, "I actually think this character was designed to be played by another ethnicity other than myself. And somewhere along the way, Toro had the notion, 'Wouldn't it be interesting to turn this guy into more of an invention.' So, in other words, somebody takes on a persona that completely sounds like he's someone else and acts like he's someone else but he's really, you know, as you see me. That added a dimension to the larger-than-life aspect of the character... I'm playing somebody very close to my own origins. But a completely made-up persona... which makes him even more full of shit. And I think that's the charm of the guy—that he's kind of elusive, hard to pin down.[25] Pacific Rim marks Perlman's fifth appearance in a del Toro film. The director stated: "I think the moment you have a guy that is called Hannibal Chau and Ron shows up, and he's from Brooklyn and he's been selling black market organs, you know the whole story... That's all I need to know. If it's any other actor, there's a lot more explaining to do. But when Ron comes in with that look, you can make your own story and it'll be as compelling as anything I can invent. You do a little weightlifting with the audience."[12] The bird tattoos on Chau's fingers indicate his past as a gangster.[26] In the film, Chau states he took the name from his favorite historical figure and his second-favorite Szechuan restaurant in Brooklyn.[17] Del Toro drew inspiration from Burt Lancaster's performance in Elmer Gantry when writing the character.[27] *Diego Klattenhoff as Yancy Becket: :Raleigh's older brother and co-pilot. Klattentoff joined the project to work with del Toro. Describing his character, Klattentoff stated: "This is a guy who is looking out for his very eager, younger brother and they were enabled with this gift that gave them the opportunity to kind of save the world. Or help, at least."[28] Tyler Stevenson plays Yancy as a child. *Ellen McLain as Jaeger AI: :The voice of the Jaegers' artificial intelligence system.[29] Del Toro secured permission from Valve Corporation to cast McLain in homage to GLaDOS, her homicidal AI character in the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal_(series) Portal video games].[30] The director stated: "It was clear to me that we needed something beautiful in that voice. My daughter is my wingman, we had done co-op on Portal 2 for a long time and I did Portal 1 when it came out. It becomes ingrained in you, that voice. I didn't want to use her as a negative force of evil. I called Valve and asked 'Can you give us the filter?' so we went full GLaDOS for the first commercial, but I thought it was too much. If you're a gamer, it's too distracting so we created our own GLaDOS 2.0 filter that's a little less full-on."